Silvant Capital Management LLC Takes $12.32 Million Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Key Points

• Silvant Capital Management initiated a $12.32 million position in Natera during the second quarter by purchasing 45,399 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 99.90% of the company.
• Natera reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue of $752.75 million—up 37.7% year over year—and an adjusted loss of $0.47 per share versus the $0.49 consensus estimate.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $319.38 target price. Shares opened at $324.84, near their 12-month high of $333.56, while recent insider sales were conducted under pre-arranged plans to cover tax obligations.

Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 45,399 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $12,324,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natera in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,962,770,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Natera in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,117,000. Abbot Financial Management Inc. bought a new stake in Natera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,537,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in Natera by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 438,857 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $100,538,000 after acquiring an additional 71,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Natera by 3,373.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,253 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 10,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven Leonard Chapman sold 3,076 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.39, for a total value of $819,415.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,897 shares in the company, valued at $26,611,561.83. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,410 shares of Natera stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.58, for a total transaction of $905,627.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 129,019 shares in the company, valued at $34,264,866.02. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 181,045 shares of company stock valued at $41,330,968. Insiders own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NTRA shares. UBS Group set a $260.00 price objective on Natera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $375.00 target price on Natera in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of Natera in a report on Friday, August 7th. Leerink Partners set a $330.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Natera from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $319.38.

Natera Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Natera stock opened at $324.84 on Friday. Natera, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.43 and a 12 month high of $333.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.67. The stock has a market cap of $46.82 billion, a PE ratio of -238.85 and a beta of 1.51.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical research company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Natera had a negative return on equity of 11.38% and a negative net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $752.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.74) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Natera, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natera Company Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.

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